Mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus.



PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

N0, 884,662; E. F. HULL.

MAIL BAG GATGHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. 1908.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 1 v Witness No. 884,662. v PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

B. F. HULL.

MAIL BAGGATCHING AND DELIVERING APP'AR ATU S.

APPLIGAJFION rI'Lnn JAN. 17. x908.

M. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig). 2.

70ft a ad'other objects in view as inithe appended claims. 46

: 'referenoe is .tobe had to the following deiascription and acoompanying jdrawings,:in

1 apersgective view illustrating 1 apparatus in has Figs;

' as ;the--znailbag has'b'een stripped'therefrom bythe receiving hook;-Fig. 6 is-a detail sectlonal'viewof t e post upon which is mount-.

it 7 is adet'ai UNITED STATES ENNIS r. HULL, or SURVEYOR, wnsr VIRGINIA.- HAIL-DAG oa'ronme AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

rib allwhm it hiown that I, ENNIsF. HnLL, citi- States, residing at Surveyor, in the'county of Ralei h'and tate of West 5 Vir his, have nivente certain new and use- Catclnn'g and t A paratus, of whic the following speci cat io'n.

ful m'provements in Mail-B finvsntion' comprehends certain. new 8nd useful im' rovements'in apparatus for delivering and receiving mail to and from railway trains in motion and the invention like for its'obje'eta simple, durable and effilcint construction of apparatus of this charhcter which willbe positive and sure in its action, capable of belng easily manipulated, I of li ht and strong Construction and comof comparativel'y few parts that may mhe manufactured and easily assess-- y 21'. "-l led,-' ind a further ob'ect ofthe invention aliim' roved means or looking the inail bag in t e receiving hook after-it hasonce been lodged therein so astto rebounding action-and insure that thjhag, afterfhaving. once 7 been, caught shall iiot be are "pedto the ground u ndemeatlithe heels more fully appear as the description pro- Itluctions","arran ements and combinations parts'that shall hereinafter fully de scribe and then point out the novel features For a ull understanding of the. invention,

elivering and receivi 2 and ,3 are detail top 'vi ews o'na lar 'erscale, of the mail reiaimprovedwmail oificatching o0ks,'and the im roved 1 meenswith whic they are l provide .toinr retention. of the mail. ag after it has once.. heen';caught; Fig, 4'is a detail side elevation ivith parts insection, of one of the delive ingla paratus; Fig. 5 1s; a ;si milar view illastmti 0w the parts-of said apparatus automatically swing out of the way as seen Qd'rthetrack apparatus of the invention;

" p il gis a detail 'viewpartly 4 flpecification'ot Letters Patent. A nusoii Med January 17, 1908. Serial at. 411,870.

pr vent; "any eee da jthe',inventionponsists in certain consectional view of the lower PATENT OFFIC -t Y Patentad'iprfl 14, 1900/.

insection and, artly in elevation of on'e of the fin ers-for irectly holdi .theringson the en s of the mail bag;- and, igs. 9 and lt') are detail sectional views here nafter specifically referred to. v y v. a Correspondingjand like parts are referred reference characters. Referring now to Fig, ,1 fit willhe seenfith t the rodor shaft- 1 .for vfsiuppor' tingf...tl1e mail in all the views: 0 the drawingsby the same toin the followin descriptionandindicated e .tobu again on in or other, lgckmgdevicer 'receiving devicesof thqcar, apparatusisof;

' :A' sleeve 6- is mounted @tolturn longitudinally upon' the rod 1', anda? mail bag receiving or catching hook-.7 of any desired type, with the ordinary dodging" pocket or loop 8 is secured to. the sleeve 6 in any desired way. The sleeve fi is formed at-on e -end 'with a recess Q' designed :to receive a locking lug 10 forined on'va collar ll adjustably secured to the rod 1'- by asetxscrew'as shown, the adj ustm'entof the'zcollar llrbem g usefulin that it may hetumed: on there and held in Iproper position to eoaet Withthe A sleeve 6 in oldin the hook 7 properly'p'rw 'jected', or at the esired elevation, after-the v recess 9 has become morelor-less worn; ,An-

other set collar 12 is secured to the rod l .the rear of thesleeve'fi and is vided with a butler l3 of-rub er'or the" ks. The sleeve --.6- is provided with a handle? 14-,

preferably roso that the receiving apparatus ibc' s t with-the hook 7 projecting out from-t I way of the car and "with the lug 10 engaging the recess 9. .Wherrthelm'ail bagenters the hook 7 and lodges in-the oek'et 8' "1t is obvious that its impact will slid; the-sl wardly on the rod 1' and cause th etherevere'ara e dlsenga ement of the'lug from the recess 9 so that t "e' sleeve "may beturned on the rod andthe hook swung downwardly and inwardly so. as

to carry the mailbag within thecain i'lli'e' rearward movement of the sleeve 6 is limited by the collar 12 and the shock is absorbed by the buffer 13, in an evident manner.

In order to retain the m ail bag within the pocket 8 of the hook 7 after it has once lodged therein, I rovide a swinging detent 15. This detent-1n the present'instance, is formed of a preferably integral metallic strip bent intermediate of its endsto form spaced par- 1 allel members 16 embracing theouter and inner members of the hook 7. The ends of thestrip are reversely curved to form hook portions 17. 18 designates the pivot point i of the detent 15. Compression springs 19 15. are secured at one end to the detent eccentricall of the pivot point 18, the other ends of sai springs throu h ears 20 formed on the sleeve 6. Re erringv now particularl to- Fig; 2, it zoswill be seen that when the etent 15 is set, the pull springlsli) exert a tension tohold the cross bar of t e detent in en agement with the outer members ofthe hoo k 7 the members 16 projecting across and infront of the ocket 8, so that. the will be struck by the as it enters the 00k. The springs 19 thus yieldinfily hold the detent 15 in this.

set position unt the ba strikes the detent, whereupon the points 0 connection of the springs with the members 16 will be turned across the center or rearwardlybeyond the pivot point 18, and thereupon the springs be permitted to exert their tension to snap the hook portion 17 of the detent across the ocket so asto hold the bag, the bag bemg eld securely in the pocket of. the hook 7 by the'continuing pressure .of the springs 19! exerted on the swinging detent 15. This position of the parts is lustrated in Fig. 3

in full lines and in dotted lines is illustrated the fact that the springs continue to exert a.

' tension on the detent after the same has caught the ba whereby to insure that the bag' shall not ecome accidentally dislodged 4 'fr'om the receiving book 7. Ifdesired, a

handle may be formed on this detent 15 to set the same, but I do not regard this as.

necessa I In order to provide means for holdin the mail bag to be deliveredpfojected out cm the car so as to be caught y the track apparatus, I secure to the outer side of the car and g to one side of the doorwa as best seen in i 1, 4 and. 5, upper and ower brackets 21'.

"L'wr'ertacally disposed shaft 22 1s journaled to V projectin'gu per and lower ends 23 the up- ;25 bein.g adapted to swingupwardly, and the eingsecured to a pin inserted lower arm 26 downwardl and each of said arms is provided with a oriqontally swinging finger 27, the rings of the mail bag 28 being designed to be slipped over said fintgers so as to hold the bag suspended. Pre erably the'pivot studs that connect the fingers 27 with their respective arms are encirc ed by springs, the tension of which may be regulated by wing nuts 29, as best seen in Fig. 8, so that the ease or freedom of movement of the fingers relatively to the arms shall permit the bag to be stripped therefrom,

may e' varied.

In order to instantly swin the arms 25 and; 26 up and down respective y as soon as these bag 28 has been stripped therefrom I secure a. r0 or link 30 at its upper end to the: upper. arm 25 inthe rear of t e pivot thereof, the

lower end of said link being pivotally connected to a rearwardly an upwardly p'ro- 35 jecting end of the lower arm 26. A spring 31 is secured to this rearwardly extending portion of the arm 26, and another spring 32"is connected to the rod 22, as best seen in Figs. 7 i 4 and 5, the tension-bf these springs exerting an outward pressure on the rear portion of the arm 26 to insure that the sameshall be swung downwardly in a positive manner as the upper arm swings upwardly. It will thus be seen .tha'tas soon as the mail bag' is 9'5 stripped from the fingers 27 [of the arms, the springs will be permitted to="e'xert their ten-; 7 slon to swing the arms out of way to the/ 1 position illustrated in 'The track apparatus bodies an uprig t or post 33 mounted many desired way along the track, said post provided at a lpredeterminedpoint with a collar 34. A s eeve 35 is mounted t'urn upon the ost 33 with.v its lower edge ,es ing 105, on the co ar 34, and slots 36' are f0 e by recessing the adj a'c'ent'edges of the sleeve and collar, a transversely extending latch 37' bei ing accommodated in said slots. A rod. 38 within the ost 3.3 is connected at its u er end to the atch 37 and to the lowen e 9f the said rod a foot treadle 39 is conne ted, said foot treadle pro'ecting out thro. h .a verticall elongated s at in-the base 0 the P an position by means of a coil spring 40, best seen in Fig-7. .Under normal conditions,

the spring 40 serves to hoIdthe ZateEBJ -in the recesses in the lower edgeiof; sleeve 35. Upon the attendant depress g the .foot 120.

' ortsl The sleeve maybe 'rovided with-a 1.2 5.-

andle 35 by which'lit may e turned.

A rod 41 projects'horizonta'lly from, sleeve 35, the outer end of. said-rodsupporting a lantern asindicated at. 42 sothatfthe track apparatus maybe plainly discemed at lto" 5. o my inventionem- 100 being normally held'in a1'1 'u"right vided at its outer end with repess 4'4 deal to r i a ocki -lu 45 P i l fi fi night, and the sleeve- 43k prov;

bility of accidental dilifiidgmen P lth he 21s. "m s. spring 22t at exert'sa tensi'on't'oswingiheu once having been ca en y in? ed a,

itlierodg- H bag holding arms outfromth lcirioi" I 46 designates a handle which thesleeve way until "the" upper angula rbnd 2'3 cfj the; 43 may besetwith the hoo 47 properly proshait'abuts; aga'lnstthe shoulder; 2410p the J'ww i I pp bracket f a' vta n s they. 48 des'i nates a detent similarto :the de-1 bag to these arms, will drawtha arms' into L tent 1 5 a ove described. The sleeve,35. is 1 the doorway against thete'nslon of thespfin thereon,

formedwith lower and uppershoulders 49 designed" to support the lower andupper 1G0l-.-'-*

lars 50 and 51 so that the. same may be turned said "collars loosely encircling, the sleeve above the shoulders so that the may be raised as well as turnedfi 'lhese col are 50 v and 51 are connected together fon simulta'p" neous movement byv a. brace 52 andeach of ovided with, a bearing bracket 53 in whidli the bag holding arms 54 are mounted for upward and downward movement, respectively, the arms 54 being constructed and arran (id like the arms .and 26 above describe 'dillgs 45, as best seen in 1 durable and eflicie'nt out of the. way as soon I have described that my improved track apparatus permits the reversal of the parts by turning the sleeve 35 on the post 33. Obviously a further adjustment is necessary so that the hook 47 and bag holding arms 54 face the track. This requirement is'met so far as the bag receiving hook 47 is concerned by duplicating the recesses 44 and locking Fi 9, and by merely glvm the sleeve 43, a hal? rotation on its rod. 41. v the case of the bag holding arms 54, this requirement is provided for by the constructlon and arrangement of the collars50 and 51 thatare mounted to slide up and down'and turn around on the sleeve35 and that are provided with recesses 55 designed for engagement with the lockin lugs 56 It will t us be understood that after the sleeve 35 has been reversed, the arms 54ma around on the sleeve 35 so t at the will pro- -ject towards the track. The dup ication of the recesses-55 and locking lugs 56 to permit this reversal of the arms, 24 is shown in detail inFig.10.'

From the foregoing-description in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a V6? sim le, construction'o in'ail ag catching and delivering ap sesses a l of the necessary eatures of adjustability or reversibility, and which may be easily and quickly sat in an operative posi-. tion, th hag delivering parts of the apparatus being quickly and automatically swung as the bags have been aratus which posstripped therefrom, the bag catching or rejceivmg parts of the apparatus also swinging en 1 ("prickly and automatically to one side "15 t "bags being held securely.

w therem, and the e bags hewe been'caug in the hooksgafter .will release the bag curved to form a hook also be turned s'prin 22%willthereupon Swing ward into.Qperanvepdaitiqn; Z f'Having thus described the inventijomfl what isjclaimed' as new'is:

22 and as'soon as the bag has been'att'ach" lding arms" m t I News, I

1=.-= In an apparatus of ithe, character. d6

scribed, :the combinatiomwith aha catchi hook provided with ya pocket, of crumed intermediate of its ends on said hook and-adapted to swing thereon so as to project either end across the pocket, a support for said hook, and a compression spring secured to the support and to the detent eccena trio of the fulcrum point thereof, as and for the purpose set fort v In an apparatus of th'e character described, the combination with a bag catching hook-provided'witha pocket, of a detent comprising an integralstrip bent intermediate of its ends to form spaced memberspivoted to one arm of the hook and'designed to embrace said arm and the opposite arm of the hook, the extremities of said ortion, and means for holding said hook un er tension-with one end across the pocket andarranged to snap the opposite and hooked tent across the. pocket upon the impact of a mail bag against the first named end of the detent. 4

3. In an apparatus of the character dew strip being portion of the de- I scribed, a bag 'holdlng device, com rising lower and u per collars formed with rackets, bag hol ing arms carried by said brack-v ets, a support upon which said collars are mounted to rise holding arms may. be reversed in position, and means for locking said collars on their support.

holding device, comprising lower and upper collars, a brace connecting said collars to ether, be holding arms supported by saif collars, t e collars being ar-' ranged to be moved up and down and turned around on their support, a support for said collars, the

and tum whereby the bag collars being provided with downwardly facing recesses and the support being on whjchsaidslheve I i is mounted to turn whereby to projectfthe-jso i 4. In an apparatusof the character described, a bag .hook from one side orthe other of the rod, means for securi thesleeve onthe rod, a. vertically dispose sleeve to which said rod is secured,. apost upon which said sleeve is 5 mounted to turnyand means for holding said sleeve rigidly on the post.

6. In an apparatus" of the chamecterfdejscribed, the combination of a post, a sleeve mounted to turn on said post a horizontally "-10 disposed rod supportedluy'sald sleeve, 2. ba ;cetchi hook-reversibly mounted on sai rod, an bag-holding mountedto turn on said sleeve. v a v v 7.111 an apparatus of the character de- 15 scribed the combination of a post, a horizon:

" tally-disposed bagicatfching hook, ahorizontal rod upon; which the hook is reversibly mounted; and a .sup rt for said rod, the

8. In an -apparatus of the charact r (1e scribed, the'combinationof up rand lower the upper bracket eing formed l 4 posed shaft brackets with a shoulder, a vertically dis mountedto turn in said brackets and formed 25 with aniularlydispo'sed ends, the \ipperone of Awhic is adapted to :abut against said shoulder to limit the movement of the shaft H [in one direction,.ba holding harms mounted .on the ends of said s left, and tension 3o 

